Wire Fraud, Embezzlement Charges For Former Zeigler Treasurer

(Zeigler, IL) — Federal prosecutors say the former treasurer in a small southern Illinois town stole 300 thousand-dollars by using white out and a copy machine. A federal grand jury indicted former Zeigler treasurer Ryan Thorpe on embezzlement and wire fraud charges on Tuesday. Prosecutors say Thorpe wrote checks to himself from the city’s account, then used white out to blank-out his name, added the name of a city vendor, copied the check, then passed the copy off as the official entry into the city’s financial statements. Thorpe is looking at 40 years in prison. Zeigler’s mayor says he is shocked and saddened by the indictment.